Toy mail car bag pickup and discharge mechanism



April 1955 R. J. KLINGEBIEL TOY MAIL CAR BAG PICKUP AND DISCHARGE MECHANISM Filed Dec. 2, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l II II R. J. KLINGEBIEL April 12, 1955 TOY MAIL CAR BAG PICKUP AND DISCHARGE MECHANISM Filed Dec. 2, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Airy United States Patent TOY MAIL CAR BAG PICKUP AND DISCHARGE MECHANISM Richard J. Klingebiel, Ashton, Ill.

Application December 2, 1953, Serial No. 395,759

8 Claims. (Cl. 258-7) This invention relates. to improvements in toy mail cars and is more particularly concerned with simplification of and improvements upon the bag pickup and discharge mechanism disclosed in my Patent 2,260,460, issued October 28, 1941.

In the aforesaid patent a mail bag catcher is pivotally mounted on a carriage that is operated by a solenoid in and out through a side door opening, and a sliding door is reciprocable relative to the opening in timed relation to the catcher and is operated by a second solenoid, thus making the mechanism too complicated and expensive for the average miniature railroad hobbyist to consider purchasing and applying to his equipment. It is, therefore, the principal object of my present invention to provide a simpler and less expensive construction requiring only one solenoid to operate the catcher and door, the mechanism being furthermore designed and constructed with a view to its being salable in kit form to hobbyists to be assembled by them and installed in existing equipment.

A salient feature of the present improved mechanism, aside from the joint operation of the door and catcher by a single solenoid, is the provision of a unique load and fire mechanism that is set or cocked when the solenoid operates the door to open position and the catcher to extended pickup position against the action of a return spring, and is automatically released when the catcher strikes the mail bag to allow the catcher to move to retracted position in the car and the door to close under spring action. The load and fire mechanlsm comprises a link pivotally mounted on a carriage and arranged to operate a latch to a position holding the carriage in extended position with the catcher in readiness to pick the toy mail bag off its holders on a stand, the link in turning the catcher to its open or receiving posltion moving a trifle past dead center so that the return spring attached to the carriage cannot return it until the catcher striking the mail bag is turned enough to move the link back again past dead center and release the latch. The catcher is turned to bag holding position and retracted into the car so quickly that a greatly simplified form of holders can be used on a bag stand alongside the track, because no allowance need be made in the construction of the holders on this stand for any appreciable lateral movement thereof in the transfer of the mail bag from the stand to the mail car.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side view of a portion of a toy mail car indicating in dotted lines behind the closed sliding door the pickup and discharge mechanism made in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the car showing a stand alongside the track with improved holders thereon supporting a mail bag in readiness for the catcher to remove;

Fig. 3 is a similar view indicating the catcher at the instant'of transfer of the mail bag and showing the two bag-holding arms on the stand dropped to retracted position;

Fig. 4 is a top view with the top of the car removed showing the pickup and discharge mechanism in plan view, with the catcher in retracted position, and indicating in dotted lines between the tracks the third and fourth rails through which current is supplied to energize the solenoid;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the first phase of operation of the mechanism at the instant when the third and fourth rails are contacted, assuming that these rails are charged;

Fig. 6 is a view like Fig. 5 but showing the second phase of operation of the mechanism which leaves the catcher set to pick up the mail-bag that is indicated as supported on a stand in readiness for the catcher, and

Fig. 7 is a view like Fig. 6 but showing the pickup operation completed and the stand with its bag-holding arms retracted.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral 8 designates a toy mail car of any suitable design and construction, one side of which has an opening 9 normally closed by a sliding door 10. An arm 11 is attached at its one end to the inner side of the door 10 and at its other end to a slide 12 reciprocable in parallel guides 13 disposed parallel to the door 10 and secured to a mounting plate 14. The latter is suitably supported in and secured to the floor of the mail car, the thought being that in the event the present mechanism is supplied in disassembled condition in kit form to model railroad hobbyists they can assemble the mechanism on the plate 14 according to instructions and then place the assembly in the mail car and connect the arm 11 to the door 10. Plate 14 is of sheet metal and, as appears in Fig. 1, has an elevated horizontal portion 15 at one end carrying the guides 13 and integral with an intermediate vertically bent portion 16 from the lower end of which the other end portion 16' extends horizontally like the first mentioned end but at the floor level, the same being adapted to be suitably secured to the floor 17 of the mail car. A horizontally disposed bell-crank lever 18 is pivotally secured at 19 to the upper horizontal end portion 15 of plate 14 and has an elongated slot 20 in one arm thereof in which a vertical pin 21 on slide 12 is slidably pivotally engaged to give the door 10 an opening movement when the lever 18 is swung through about 30 in a clockwise direction from the position of Fig. 4 to that shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The other arm of lever 18 is also slotted lengthwise as shown at 22 but one tine 23 of the fork thus formed is cut off shorter than the other so that the vertical pin 24 on carriage 25 which actuates lever 18 when the carriage is moved will ride out of the slot 22 when the door 10 has been moved a predetermined distance in the opening direction, allowing the carriage to move still farther after the door stops, and the pin 24 will ride into the slot 22 again in the return movement of the carriage at a predetermined point in the travel thereof when there is nothing to interfere with the closing of the door 10. Another horizontally disposed bell-crank lever 26 pivotally secured at 27 to a bracket 28 mounted on the lower portion 16 of plate 14 has its one arm slotted as at 29' to pivotally and slidably receive pin 24 to transmit outward sliding movement to carriage 25 when the lever is swung in a counter-clockwise direction by reason of energization of solenoid 29. The latter has its armature 30 slidably pivotally connected at 31 to the other arm of lever 26. Solenoid 29 is energizable by closing a switch (not shown) to close a circuit that includes the third and fourth rails 32 disposed parallel to one another between and parallel to the tracks 33 on which the train runs, the rails 32 being provided usually only in the vicinity of a station or stations in a miniature railroad setup, so that the operator observing the travel of the toy train and wishing to cause a mail bag to be dropped or picked up at a given station can at the right moment press the button of the switch connecting rails 32 to a source of current supply when the train approaches the selected station. The door 10 is opened and closed as a part of the operation, as will soon appear, it being opened in response to energization of the solenoid 29, when a sort of load and fire mechanism connected with the catcher 34 is cocked, and said door being closed later when the picking off of a bag 35 from a stand 36 fires or releases said mechanism by pressure of the bag 35 against the catcher 34 in the pickup operation. A coiled tension spring 37 connected at one end to a lug 38 projecting from the vertical portion 16 of the plate 14 and at its other end to the carriage 25 serves to return the door 10 to closed position when the catcher 34 is operated. Two

leaf spring contacts 39 projecting downwardly from the bottom of the mail car are connected by wires 40 with the opposite ends of the coil of solenoid 29 and are disposed so as to slide on the rails 32 as contact brushes, whereby to energize the solenoid when the mail car 8 passes over the rails 32, assuming the operator has depressed the push-button switch connecting the rails 32 in circuit with the source of current supply.

The catcher 34 is in the form of a circular d1sk swivelled at its center, as at 41, on the carriage 25 and having a right-angle notch 42 provided therein which cooperates with the forked outer end portion 43 on the carriage 25 to hold a toy mail bag 35 by its reduced Waist portion 44, as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 7, when the catcher 34 is turned through about 90 from the cocked position shown in Fig. 6 to the operative position shown in Fig. 7. A link 45 is pivotally connected at its one end, as at 46, to the catcher 34 diametrically opposite from the notch 42 and has an elongated slot 47 in its other end by means of which it is pivotally and slidably connected to the pin 24 previously mentioned projecting upwardly from the carriage 25. A light coiled torsion spring 48 has an arm on one end thereof attached to the pin 24 and another arm on the other end attached to a lug 49 on the link 45 tending normally to urge the link inwardly away from the pivot 41 of the catcher 34. A latch 50 is pivoted at 51 on the carriage 25 and has a pin 52 which is entered in a longitudinal slot 53 provided in the link 45 intermediate the ends thereof to pivotally slidably connect the latch to the link for oscillation with the latch, whereby a tooth 54 provided on the latch may be engaged or disengaged from a notch 55 provided therefor in one end of the channel guide 56 in which the carriage 25 is slidably received. The guide 56 is suitably secured to the vertical portion 16 of the plate 14, as best appears in dotted lines in Fig. 1. A lug 57 is provided on the pivoted end of the link 45 and arranged to engage a stop projection 58 provided on the plate 14 to limit lineal movement of the link 45 with the carriage 25, as indicated in Fig. 6, and thereby cause the catcher 34 to be turned in a counterclockwise direction from the position shown in Fig. to the position shown in Fig. 6, wherein it is cocked in readiness to receive the mail bag 35. The engagement of lug 57 with stop 58 being to one side of the pivot 24, the link 45 moves a trifle past a dead-center line ab through the pivots 41 and 24, as appears in Fig. 6, the movement past dead-center being only very slight and being predetermined with hair-trigger accuracy by the fine adjustment of a screw 59 that is threaded in the lug 49, the

screw in the cocked position of the mechanism engaging the cross-portion of the T of the carriage 25 that is engaged in the guide 56, as seen in Fig. 6.

The stands 36, as best appears in Figs. 2 and 3, each have a vertical standard 60 set in a supporting base 61 and provided with a right-angle bend 62 on the upper end, by means of which end portion the standard is pivotally connected, as at 63, to the upper one of the two bag-holding arms 64. This arm is of channel-shaped cross-section and of gradually decreasing depth from one end to the other and receives the bent end 62 in the channel thereof at the middle so that the pivot pin 63 can be passed through registering holes in the opposite side walls of the channel. A piece of springy piano wire 65 is secured to the lighter shallow end portion of the arm 64 and is entered in an eye 66 provided on the upper end of the bag 35. Another arm 67 pivoted at 68 to the standard 60 has a similar wire 65' provided on its outer end arranged to be entered in an eye 66' provided on the lower end of the bag 35. The bag 35 is supported on the two arms 64 and 67 in the manner shown in Fig. 2 but when the bag is removed the arms 64 and 67 gravitate to the vertical retracted positions shown in Fig. 3, arm 64 swinging upwardly by reason of the greater weight of the deeper channel end remote from the wire 65, and arm 67 swinging downwardly by gravity. Hence, the arms 64 and 67 are immediately retracted to an out of the way position and there is no danger of the stand 36 or any portion thereof interfering with the freedom of travel of a train or trains past it on tracks 33.

In operation, the operator depresses a push-button switch (not shown) connecting the rails 32 with a source of current supply when he wants the present mechanism for pickup and discharge of mail bags to be operated at a station where the rails 32 are located. When the contacts 37 engage rails 32, solenoid 29 is energized and door is slid open and carriage 25 is extended, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, against the action of the return spring 37. If a mail bag 35 is being held by the catcher 34 at the time the catcher is extended, the bag is thrown outwardly from the car, giving a very realistic similarity to the throwing of a mail bag from regular mail cars. Whether or not there is a bag 35 being held by the catcher 34 at the time of the extension of the carriage 25 from the mail car, as shown in Fig. 6, the catcher 34 is cocked with the link 45 disposed a trifle past dead-center and with the tooth 54 of latch 50 engaged in slot 55 to prevent return movement of the carriage 25 under action of spring 37 until the catcher 34 is tripped by striking a bag 35 held in the arms 64 and 67 of a stand 36, whereupon the return movement of the carriage 25 under action of spring 37 is so sudden in relation to the speed of travel of the toy train that there is actually no need for allowing for any appreciable lateral movement of the arms 64 and 67. It is suflicient if these arms have merely loose freeswinging pivotal connections at 63 and 68 with the standard 60. The instant the catcher 34 has been turned in a clockwise direction enough to move the pivot 46 to the right of the dead-center line ab, the spring 37 serves to pull the carriage 25 inwardly, and near the end of the inward travel of the carriage the pin 24 enters slot 22 and swings bell-crank lever 18 in a clockwise direction, closing the door 10 in the final movement of the carriage. It should be evident that with the present mechanism a bag may be picked up at one station off a stand 36 and discharged at another station. Hair trigger sensitiveness of the mechanism is assured by providing the screw adjustment 59, which can be adjusted from time to time as the need for it may appear to insure operation of the catcher 34 each time it encounters a bag 35 on a stand 36.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, a mail bag catching and throwing mechanism comprising an elongated carriage reciprocable on a giude in said car between an extended operative position and a retracted position in said car, a mail bag catcher means pivotally mounted on said carriage to turn relative to a bag receiving hook provided on one end of said carriage to and from a bag holding position, spring means normally urging said carriage to a retracted position in the car, an elongated link pivotally connected to said catcher means and slidably pivotally guided on said carriage for endwise movement relative thereto, said link having a projection arranged to engage a stationary stop to limit movement of the link with the carriage when the latter is moved to extended operative position so as to turn said catcher means to a bag catching and throwing position, a latch pivoted on said carriage and arranged to engage a keeper to hold said carriage releasably in extended operative position, said latch being operatively connected with said link to move to locked position when said catcher means is moved to bag catching and throwing position, said link in the latter operation moving its pivotal connection with said catcher means past a dead center position with respect to the pivotal mountings of said catcher means and link on said carriage to keep the latch engaging the keeper until said catcher means in the movement of the car engages a bag on a stationary holder and is turned by reason of such engagement, and remotely controlled means for operating said carriage to extended operative position.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 including spring means connected with said link tending to urge it endwise with respect to said carriage in one direction so as to assist the movement of said link by said catched means past dead center in the uncocking direction when said catcher means engages a bag on a holder.

3. A device as set forth in claim 1 including a door for said car slidable crosswise with respect to the movement of the carriage to uncover a door opening provided in said car through which the carriage is extensible, and means connecting said door with said remotely controlled means for operating said carriage, whereby the door is opened and closed in timed relation to the operation of said carriage.

4. A device as set forth in claim 1 including a screw adjustment for said link for variably limiting the movement of Said link past the dead-center position in the cocking direction and accordingly varying the sensitiveness of operation of said catcher means by engagement with the bag.

5. A device as set forth in claim 1 including a screw adjustment for said link for variably limiting the movement of said link past the dead-center position in the cocking direction and accordingly varying the sensitiveness of operation of said catcher means by engagement with the bag and said spring means connecting said door with said remotely controlled means for operating said carriage, whereby the door is opened and closed in timed relation to the operation of said carriage.

6. In a device of the character described, a mail bag catching and throwing mechanism comprising, in combination, a horizontal guide, a carriage movable thereon from a retracted position in the car to an extended operative position, a mail bag catcher means mounted on said carriage and arranged to be extended from the car in the extended position of the carriage so as to engage a bag on a stationary holder as the car passes said holder, spring means normally urging said carriage to retracted position, latch means for releasably locking said carriage in extended position, said catcher means constituting the trigger element of a load and fire mechanism that is connected with said latch means to set it in locked position when said mechanism is cocked and release it when said mechanism is uncocked, and remotely controlled means for operating said carriage to extended operative position and setting said load and fire mechanism in cocked.

7. A device as set forth in claim 6 including a door for said car slidable crosswise with respect to the movement of the carriage to uncover a door opening provided in said car through which the carriage is extensible, and said spring means connecting said door with said remotely controlled means for operating said carriage, whereby the door is opened and closed in timed relation to the opera, tion of said carriage.

8. In a device of the character described, a frame plate of elongated form bent to provide substantially horizontal opposed end portions at different elevations joined together by a substantially vertical intermediate portion,

horizontal guide means on one side of said vertical portion, a carriage of elongated form slidable thereon having a bag catcher pivoted on one end to turn to and from bag holding position, a solenoid carried on one of said horizontal portions of said plate operatively connected with one arm of a bell-crank lever pivoted relative to said solenoid and having its other arm pivotally slidably connected with a pin on said carriage to move the carriage in one direction when said bell crank is oscillated when the solenoid is energized, manually controlled means connected with a source of electric current for supplying current to said solenoid, spring means urging said carriage in the other direction, another bell-crank lever pivoted on the other horizontal portion of said plate and having its one arm slotted for reception of said pin for a lost-motion sliding pivotal connection with said carriage, a slide reciprocable on the latter horizontal portion of said plate and slidably pivotally connected with the other arm of the last named bell-crank lever, a door slidable in guides transversely relative to the movement of said carriage and rigidly connected with said slide so that the door is operated in predetermined timed relation to the carriage, a latch pivoted on said carriage engageable with a keeper on the plate, and load and fire means on said carriage connected with the catcher and latch and operable to cocked position when the carriage is moved by said solenoid putting said latch in engagement with the keeper and said catcher in bag catching position, said catcher constituting the release trigger of said load and fire means and being operable by engagement with a bag on a holder to uncock said load and fire means, releasing said latch and moving said catcher to bag holding position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,177,453 Smith Mar. 28, 1916 1,222,026 Pollock Apr. 10, 1917 2,142,607 Douglass Jan. 3, 1939 2,260,460 Klingebiel Oct, 28, 1941 

